ASRock B450M Pro4 AM4 DDR4 mATX Motherboard Review

• Features   AMD AM4 Socket Supports DDR4 3200+ (OC) 1 PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 PCIe 2.0 x16, 1 PCIe 2.0 x1 AMD Quad CrossFireX™ Graphics Output:HDMI, DVI-D, D-Sub 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec), ELNA Audio Caps 4 SATA3, 1 Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4), 1 M.2 (SATA3) 2 USB 3.1 Gen2 (Rear Type-A+C) 6 USB 3.1 Gen1 (2 Front, 4 Rear) Realtek Gigabit LAN   Overview   AMD StoreMI Technology A powerful tool that combines the speed of your SSD with the capacity of your hard disk into a single, fast, easy-to-manage drive. SSDs are fast, but expensive, and offer minimal capacity. Mechanical hard drives boast large capacity for a low price, but are much slower than an SSD. AMD StoreMI technology “combines” these two types of storage into a single drive and automatically moves the data you access the most to the SSD, so you get the best of both worlds: SSD responsiveness, and mechanical hard disk capacity. You can also use up to 2GB of RAM as a last-level cache for ultra-fast data. *AMD StoreMI software is only free with 400-series chipset based motherboards.   Dual M.2 For SSD Equipped with M.2 slot that supports both SATA3 6Gb/s and PCIe Gen3 x4 Ultra M.2 interface that pushes data transfer speeds up to 32Gb/s, and is compatible with ASRock’s U.2 Kit for installing some of the world’s fastest U.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD.   Dual USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-A + Type-C) This motherboard has a pair of onboard Type-A and Type-C USB 3.1 Gen2 ports built on the rear i/o for supporting next generation USB 3.1 Gen2 devices and to deliver up to 10 Gbps data transfer rates.   Digi Power This motherboard uses a next generation Hybrid Digi Power design to bring precise control and smooth power. With the ensured efficient and clean power delivery to the CPU, the stability and lifespan of motherboard is also greatly enhanced.   ELNA Audio Caps Who says high quality audio is only available on high-end motherboards? ASRock applied ELNA audio capacitors on mainstream and entry-level motherboards! Compared with traditional solid caps, the leakage current of ELNA audio caps is merely 3uA. This is the key to reduce noise level significantly and satisfy even the pickiest audiophiles.   Solid Capacitor Design ASRock applied solid capacitors on this motherboard. With these solid caps, this motherboard is allowed to perform more stably and ensure longer lifetime.     Specification   Unique Feature ASRock USB 3.1 Gen2 – ASRock USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s) – ASRock USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s) ASRock Super Alloy – Premium 42A Power Choke – Sapphire Black PCB – High Density Glass Fabric PCB – 2oz Copper PCB ASRock Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4) ASRock Full Spike Protection (for all USB, Audio, LAN Ports) ASRock Live Update & APP Shop CPU – AMD AM4 Socket – Digi Power design – Supports 105W Water Cooling (Pinnacle Ridge); Supports 95W Water Cooling (Summit Ridge); Supports 65W Water Cooling (Raven Ridge) Chipset – AMD Promontory B450 Memory – Dual Channel DDR4 Memory Technology – 4 x DDR4 DIMM Slots – AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Pinnacle Ridge) support DDR4 3200+(OC) / 2933/2667/2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory* – AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Summit Ridge) support DDR4 3200+(OC) / 2933(OC) / 2667/2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory* – AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Raven Ridge) support DDR4 3200+(OC) / 2933(OC) / 2667/2400/2133 non-ECC, un-buffered memory* – Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB** – 15μ Gold Contact in DIMM Slots   *For Ryzen Series CPUs (Raven Ridge), ECC is only supported with PRO CPUs. Please refer to below table for DDR4 UDIMM maximum frequency support. Ryzen Series CPUs (Pinnacle Ridge): UDIMM Memory Slot     Frequency(MHZ) A1          A2          B1          B2 –              SR           –              –              2667 –              DR          –              –              2400 –              SR           –              SR           2667 –              DR          –              DR          2400 SR           SR           SR           SR           2133 SR/DR    DR          SR/DR    DR          1866   Ryzen Series CPUs (Summit Ridge): UDIMM Memory Slot     Frequency(MHZ) A1          A2          B1          B2 –              SR           –              –              2667 –              DR          –              –              2667 –              SR           –              SR           2667 –              DR          –              DR          2400-2667 SR           SR           SR           SR           2133-2400 SR/DR    DR          SR/DR    DR          1866-2133   Ryzen Series CPUs (Raven Ridge): UDIMM Memory Slot     Frequency(MHZ) A1          A2          B1          B2 –              SR           –              –              2933 –              DR          –              –              2667 –              SR           –              SR           2667 –              DR          –              DR          2400 SR           SR           SR           SR           2133 SR/DR    DR          SR/DR    DR          1866     SR: Single rank DIMM, 1Rx4 or 1Rx8 on DIMM module label DR: Dual rank DIMM, 2Rx4 or 2Rx8 on DIMM module label   **Due to the operating system limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows® 32-bit OS. For Windows® 64-bit OS with 64-bit CPU, there is no such limitation. BIOS – 128Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with multilingual GUI support – Supports "Plug and Play" – ACPI 5.1 compliance wake up events – Supports jumperfree – SMBIOS 2.3 support – DRAM Voltage multi-adjustment Graphics – Integrated AMD Radeon™ Vega Series Graphics in Ryzen Series APU* – DirectX 12, Pixel Shader 5.0 – Max. shared memory 2GB – Three graphics output options: D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI – Supports Triple Monitor – Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096×2160) @ 24Hz / (3840×2160) @ 30Hz – Supports DVI-D with max. resolution up to 1920×1200 @ 60Hz – Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 1920×1200 @ 60Hz – Supports Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color (12bpc), xvYCC and HBR (High Bit Rate Audio) with HDMI Port (Compliant HDMI monitor is required) – Supports HDCP with DVI-D and HDMI Ports – Supports 4K Ultra HD (UHD) playback with HDMI Port   *Actual support may vary by CPU Audio – 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec)* – Premium Blu-ray Audio support – Supports Surge Protection – ELNA Audio Caps   *To configure 7.1 CH HD Audio, it is required to use an HD front panel audio module and enable the multi-channel audio feature through the audio driver. LAN – PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s – Realtek RTL8111H – Supports Wake-On-LAN – Supports Lightning/ESD Protection – Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az – Supports PXE Slots AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Summit Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge) – 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2: x16 mode)* – 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE3: x4 mode) AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Raven Ridge) – 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2: x8 mode)* – 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE3: x4 mode)   – 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot – Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX™ and CrossFireX™   *Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks Storage – 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug* – 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge)** – 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_2), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module   *M2_2 and SATA3_3 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the other one will be disabled.   **Supports NVMe SSD as boot disks Supports ASRock U.2 Kit Connector – 1 x COM Port Header – 1 x TPM Header – 1 x Chassis Intrusion Header – 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header – 1 x RGB LED Header* – 1 x Addressable LED Header** – 1 x AMD Fan LED Header*** – 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)**** – 1 x CPU/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)***** – 3 x Chassis/Water Pump Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)****** – 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector – 1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector – 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector – 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports) (Supports ESD Protection) – 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports) (Supports ESD Protection)   *Supports in total up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip   **Supports in total up to 5V/3A, 15W LED Strip   ***The AMD Fan LED Header supports LED strips of maximum load of 3A (36W) and length up to 2.5M.   ****The CPU Fan Connector supports the CPU fan of maximum 1A (12W) fan power.   *****The CPU/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 2A (24W) fan power.   ******The Chassis/Water Pump Fan supports the water cooler fan of maximum 2A (24W) fan power. CPU_FAN2/WP, CHA_FAN1/WP, CHA_FAN2/WP and CHA_FAN3/WP can auto detect if 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use. Rear Panel I/O – 1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port – 1 x D-Sub Port – 1 x DVI-D Port – 1 x HDMI Port – 2 x USB 2.0 Ports (Supports ESD Protection) – 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection) – 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection) – 4 x USB 3.1 Gen1 Ports (Supports ESD Protection) – 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED) – HD Audio Jacks: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone Software and UEFI Software – ASRock A-Tuning – ASRock Polychrome RGB – ASRock XFast LAN UEFI – ASRock Full HD UEFI – ASRock Instant Flash – ASRock Easy RAID Installer   *These utilities can be downloaded from ASRock Live Update & APP Shop. Support CD – Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version), Google Chrome Browser and Toolbar Accessories – Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield – 2 x SATA Data Cables – 2 x Screws for M.2 Sockets Hardware Monitor – Temperature Sensing: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans – Fan Tachometer: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans – Quiet Fan (Auto adjust chassis fan speed by CPU temperature): CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans – Fan Multi-Speed Control: CPU, CPU/Water Pump, Chassis/Water Pump Fans – CASE OPEN detection – Voltage monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore Form Factor – Micro ATX Form Factor: 9.6-in x 9.6-in, 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm – Solid Capacitor design OS – Microsoft® Windows® 10 64-bit Certifications – FCC, CE – ErP/EuP ready (ErP/EuP ready power supply is required)
• Product codes:
• B450M PRO4

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Our next tip is to check out the overall features and benefits of ASRock B450M Pro4 AM4 DDR4 mATX Motherboard, if you decide that the key features match your list that you made above, you’re in a good place. Spend a bit of time really getting to grips with what all the different features mean so that you can confidently determine how one Shorts product differs from another.